In recent years, development of flat-panel display devices is keen, and amongst others, a liquid crystal display device is a focus of attention because of their thin, light, and energy efficient advantages. Especially, developers' attention is being given to an active matrix type liquid crystal display device, in which a switching element is incorporated into each pixel, with a structure using a transverse electric field (including a fringe electric field) such as an in-plane switching (IPS) mode and a fringe field switching (FFS) mode. Such a liquid crystal display device in a transverse electric field mode includes pixel electrodes and counter electrodes formed on an array substrate and switches liquid crystal molecules using the transverse electric field which is substantially parallel to the main surface of the array substrate. In general, the IPS mode utilizes comb-tooth shaped pixel electrodes and the FFS mode utilizes pixel electrodes with slits.
Aside this trend, in recent years, high definition liquid crystal display devices are the great demand. To achieve the high definition liquid crystal display devices, structural elements of a pixel including the pixel electrode must be miniaturized. With a patterning process by a general exposure machine, however, the miniaturization of the comb-tooth shaped pixel electrodes and the pixel electrodes with slits now faces its process limit and will soon be powerless to achieve advanced high definition liquid crystal display devices.